Trump Campaigns for Whatley in North Carolina Senate Race

President Trump traveled to Gastonia, North Carolina, on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, to campaign for Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley, marking his first campaign stop in the state since the RNC's Midterm Convention the prior week. Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman, is running against Democratic former Governor Roy Cooper in a race widely viewed as pivotal to control of the Senate. At the rally, Trump credited Whatley with helping deliver what he called past 'record setting' Republican election wins in North Carolina, a state he carried in three presidential runs, and criticized Democrats on crime. Trump urged North Carolina voters to 'pretend I'm on the ticket' and told the crowd to 'crush the communists' in the November elections, framing the race as an extension of his own political standing. The rally reflected Republican efforts to leverage Trump's influence with his base amid a challenging midterm landscape. Separately, Politico reported that Whatley has consistently trailed Cooper in polling, prompting concern among some Republicans about his ability to close the gap before November. ABC News reported that a North Carolina pastor who delivered the opening prayer at a separate, earlier Whatley campaign event is a registered sex offender who has been sentenced to prison twice. As of the reporting period, the North Carolina Senate race remains contested, with Cooper maintaining a polling advantage over Whatley according to Politico's account. It is unresolved whether the rally in Gastonia will affect Whatley's standing in the polls. The relationship between the pastor controversy reported by ABC News and the Gastonia rally is unclear, as ABC's report refers to a different, earlier campaign stop rather than the September 16 event covered by NBC, The Hill, and The Guardian. No outcome of the November election has yet been determined.